... yarns and other works of the so-called Southwestern Humorists. From 1853 to 1857, Twain visited and periodically worked as a printer in New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Cincinnati, corresponding with his brother's newspapers under various pseudonyms. After a visit to New Orleans in 1857, he learned the difficult art of steamboat piloting, an occupation that he followed until the Civil War closed the river, and that furnished the background for "Old Times on the Mississippi" (1875), later included in the expanded Life on the Mississippi (1883). In 1861, Twain traveled by stagecoach to Carson City, Nev., with his brother Orion, who had been appoint ...

... iron will and fiery personality, and strong use of the powers of his office that made his years of presidency to be known as the "Age of Jackson." Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, in a settlement on the border of North and South Carolina. He was orphaned at age 14. After studying law and becoming a member of the Bar in North Carolina later he moved to Nashville Tennessee. Their he became a member of a powerful political faction led by William Blount. He was married in 1791 to Rachel Donelson Robards, and later remarried to him due to a legal mistake in her prior divorce in 1794. Jackson served as delegate to Tenn. in the 1796 Constitutional convention and ...

... York. When Levi got to New York, he was taught the ways of pedaling by his brothers, who had already started a dry goods business called J. Strauss Brother & Co. In 1848 Levi moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he sold goods from his brother's store. In 1853 he returned to New York upon hearing gold had been discovered in California. He persuaded his two brothers to provide him with a supply of silk, cloth, and a few luxury items, which he planned to sell in San Francisco. He also took a supply of canvas, which he intended to use to make tents, and wagon covers to sell to prospectors who were crossing the continent. In January of 1853 Levi became a Uni ...

... This left it up to Mrs. McCullough to raise the author primarily by herself. It also affected McCullough; she began to look for paternal substitutes in her mother’s nine unmarried brothers. Growing up McCullough attended twelve years in a convent school. She then went on to Holy Cross College and obtained honors in English, chemistry, and botany. Next she began to attend the University of Sydney to become a physician. McCullough eventually dropped out due to her father’s opposition to women having medical careers. The author has had a variety of jobs varying from librarian to bus driver and schoolteacher. McCullough returned to the University of Sydney to beco ...

... of the greatest writers of his time. Upton was putting out up to two novels per week. This was unheard of at this point in time. During these years he wrote Clif Faraday stories such as "Ensign Clarke Fitch." He was also writing Mark Mallory Stories like "Lieutenant Frederick Garrison" for boys’ weekly magazine. His writing was on the right track, but he still didn’t have that one book to put him over the top. In 1900 Sinclair married his first wife. This was a start of a whole new era of writing for him. By 1904 Sinclair was moving toward a realistic fiction type of writing. He had become a regular reader of the "Appeal to Reason", which was a popular social ...

... the abolitionists. During his years as an agent he met with American abolitionist, John Brown. He learned of John's strategy of destroying" the money value of slave property" by training a group of men to help large numbers of slaves escape to freedom in the North via the Underground Railroad. When Douglass learned on the eve of the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, that Brown planned to seize the federal arsenal and armory there. He objected. Warning Brown that an attack on federal property would be equal to an assault on the U.S. government, and would prove disastrous. Douglass withdrew from further participation. He campaigned for Abraham Lincoln during the preside ...

... order to make use of astrology in their medical practice. However, Galileo apparently discussed more unconventional forms of astronomy and natural philosophy in a public lecture he gave in connection with the appearance of a New Star (now known as "Kepler's supernova") in 1604. In a personal letter written to Kepler (1571 - 1630) in 1598, Galileo had stated that he was a Copernican (believer in the Theories of Copernicus). No public sign of this belief was to appear until many years later. In the summer of 1609, Galileo heard about a spyglass that a Dutchman had shown -1- in Venice. From these reports, and using his own t ...

... Henry was the second son and the third child of his father. Henry the VIII died in 1509, the only reason Henry would become king is because of his brothers, Arthur, death in April of 1502. Soon after that, Henry would marry his first wife, his brother (Arthur's) widow, Catherine of Aragon. Many wifes would follow after her. During most of his early reign, Henry relied on Thomas Cardinal Wosley to do much of the political and religious activities. Henry soon got tired of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, so he decides that he doesn't want to be married to her anymore, so he tells Thomas Wosley to talk to the pope so he can divorce Catherine. But, Cardinal ...

... junior clerk in the Dublin Castle. His literary career began as early as 1871 and in that year he took up a post as the unpaid drama critic for the "Evening Mail," while at the same time writing short stories. His first literary "success" came a year later when, in 1872, The London Society published his short story "The Crystal Cup." As early as 1875 Stoker's unique brand of fiction had come to the forefront. In a four part serial called the "Chain of Destiny," were themes that would become Stoker's trademark: horror mixed with romance, nightmares and curses. Stoker encountered Henry Irving again, this time in the role of Hamlet, 10 years after Stoker's Trinity da ...

... excelled greatly in what at that time was great for her services. She praised by her family, friends, and teachers for her excellent grades in all of her studies. Richard Rodriguez had what seemed to be a rocky start. He was slow to learn because he knew little English in school that is until the grammar-school nuns visited his parents and convinced them to speak in English. At these parts in time they both had come to a realization: Maya realized role of her culture and race provided for society, and Richard was slowly drifting away from his family and culture to where he was shunned by Hispanics and Euro-Americans. Further along in their lives, Maya Angelou ...